The fear of scarcity creates scarcity. An almost mathematical principle, implacable, which is repeated with each strike in the refineries. Two days before the great mobilization against the pension reform, it applied again, especially in the Yvelines where almost one in five stations ran out of petrol or diesel.
The reason: the fear of missing out. “Yes, I’m afraid of being dry and of not being able to refuel,” admits Joséphine, a life assistant who uses her car for professional reasons. With what we see in the media, on the radio, I’m afraid. I have two bars left, I could have driven again but I don’t want to find myself dry on Thursday. »
In this Carrefour service station in Limay, near Mantes-la-Jolie, most motorists came for the same reasons, driven by the same fear, the same concern about reliving bad memories, those of the shortages of last October . “I had found myself wandering, at night, on the country roads for a few drops of gasoline. So if I can avoid that…” laughs Ahmed, driving his Laguna.
“Is there any more diesel? »
All are aware of feeding the scarcity. Most admit to being “scared”. But in these peri-urban areas where transport works poorly, where work and shops are far from home, the car is an essential partner in everyday life. And too bad if the prices are high.
“Obviously it’s a bit irrational, abounds Maria, who came from Mantes-la-Ville. But how do I do? My husband is in the hospital and I have to go see him every day. I have two grandchildren to drop off at school. So I fill my tank even if I don’t need it right away. I am not the only one. Yesterday I went to Auchan, it was crazy! »
It was also madness at the other end of the Yvelines in the most opulent loop of the Seine, in Marly-le-Roi, Poissy or Chambourcy. The frequentation of the stations would have increased by 10% to 20% according to these last days. In Limay, the fill-ups are linked in this chilly morning, in this end of the suburbs where the metro and the electric car appear as distant concepts, where we come across more used Clios than hybrid vehicles.
“Is there any more diesel? A motorist asks others. We try other pumps. We wonder. And live, on the service station totem, the diesel displays the dreaded four “zeroes”, synonymous with a dry tank. It’s finish. You have to go somewhere else to fill your tank. The small station of Mantes-la-Ville, nearby, in turn welcomes these shipwrecked fuel. Then Auchan and its sixteen pistols. Word of mouth, social networks, specialized sites… We will manage as best we can to find, before Thursday, an oasis still preserved.